Subscribe for ad free access & additional features for teachers. Authors: 267, Books: 3,607, Poems & Short Stories: 4,435, Forum Members: 71,154, Forum Posts: 1,238,602, Quizzes: 344
The Lady From The Sea
(1888)
Fruen fra Havet
Translated by Eleanor Marx Aveling
Inspired by the ballad Agnete og Havmanden, this drama is notable in the Ibsen corpus for introducing the portrayal of Hilde Wangel who is again portrayed in Ibsen's later play The Master Builder. This symbolic play is centred on a lady called Ellida. She is the daughter of a lighthouse keeper, and grew up where the fjord met the open sea; she loves the sea. She is married to Doctor Wangel, a doctor in a small town in West Norway (in the mountains). He has two daughters (Bolette and Hilde) by his previous wife, and he and Ellida had a son who died as a baby. This put big strains on the marriage. Wangel, fearing for Ellida's mental health, has invited Arnholm, Bolette's former tutor and now the headmaster of a school, in hopes that he can help Ellida.
DRAMATIS PERSONAE
Doctor Wangel.
Ellida Wangel, his second wife.
Bolette,
Hilde (not yet grown up), his daughters by his first wife.
Arnholm (second master at a college).
Lyngstrand.
Ballested.
A Stranger.
Young People of the Town.
Tourists.
Visitors.
(The action takes place in small fjord town, Northern Norway.)
Fan of this book? Help us introduce it to others by writing a better introduction for it. It's quick and easy, click here.
Recent Forum Posts on The Lady From The Sea
Gender Spaces
I was wondering if anyone else saw certain Gender Spaces in "The Lady From The Sea".
Lyngstrand - The Dying Mermaid
On re-reading the play, it seems to me that Lyngstrand ends as the mermaid dying in brackish waters: as he says, "The last voyage this year." Our would-be sculptor has become a 3D art-work in his own person and predicament. Mr Ballested has his model at last! Any comments?
Marriage is rarely a free choice
Ellida Wangel marries Doctor Wangel for reasons other than love. A not uncommon story perhaps. But a fantastic nautical stranger rescues ensnared Ellida from her self-imposed prison, her personal purgatory. So, in the end, salvation. But what about the rest of us?
Please submit a quiz here.
Here is where you find links to related content on this site or other sites, possibly including full books or essays about Henrik Ibsen written by other authors featured on this site.
Sorry, no links available.
